The re-vision thing: Why are contemporary biographers and historians so afraid of footnotes?

"Not telling someone where you got your information from is a kind of power stroke, effectively sealing your book off from any possible scrutiny, debate or challenge." Kathryn Hughes —The re-vision thing: Why are contemporary biographers and historians so afraid of footnotes? (Guardian) Similar:College Instructors Don't Require Enough WritingI was surprised a few years ago…

Ancient Domesday Book Outlives Electronic Version

In 1085, William the Conqueror commissioned the Domesday Book. In 1986, the BBC spent £2.5 million to create an electronic version. While William’s original is still in fine shape, there are no computers capable of reading the laser discs on which the BBC version was published. —Ancient Domesday Book Outlives Electronic Versionb> (Ananova) Similar:Facebook’s Instant…

Cheap PCs will doom Microsoft

(ZDNet) "The only way to explain Microsoft’s decisions over the past couple of years is to say that they know their packaged software business is doomed," says open-source advocate Eric Raymond. —Cheap PCs will doom Microsoft Similar:HTML5 Boilerplate: The web’s most popular front-end template HTML5 Boilerplate helps you build fast…CybercultureRules of Acquisition (#StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch,…

Scholarly Electronic Publishing Weblog

My student Matt Hoy sent me this link.  Thanks, Matt! —Scholarly Electronic Publishing Weblog Similar:Studying STEM Isn’t The Career Boost We ThinkTurns out, getting a STEM education may …AcademiaTo DoTo Do (Jerz’s Literacy Weblog) 5: …AcademiaI’m thinking this is a still from the cringey Season 1 episode of TNG where the natives bu…AcademiaBlog RSS Feed Generator…

Jamming Together: Remembering the Ditto

"The history of teaching teems with machines that have jammed and stained. Who can forget that buried next to the ditto are the old-fashioned 8and 16-millimeter film projectors?" —Jamming Together: Remembering the Dittob> (Chronicle) Similar:My Student Calls Out a Mental Health Stigma in a Biased Headline — But Here's Why We Shou…This morning a journalism…

Animator Chuck Jones Dies

No, he was not squashed by a falling safe or run over by an Acme Indestructo Steel Ball. Jones created the Road Runner and Coyote cartons. Rules from that series: “No dialogue ever, except ‘beep beep.” “No outside force can harm the Coyote — only his own ineptitude or the failure of the Acme products.”…

2002: A Palindrome Story

A palindrome is a word or phrase that reads the same backwards and forwards:  "Madam, I’m Adam." Nick Montfort & William Gillsepie have written a whole palindrome story. —2002: A Palindrome Story Similar:Robot wars: 100 years on, it's time to reboot Karel ÄŒapek's RURI was honored to play Alquist in Artisti…BooksDéjà Q (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch,…

2002 2002 2002

“The year 2002. The 20th day of the 2nd month, 2002. And, on the 24-hour clock, at two minutes after 8 p.m., harmony. 2002.” —2002 2002 2002 (Toronto Star) Similar:Coronavirus Tribute to Edward Hopper's "Nighthawks" (1942) I found this image on Facebook (wher…AestheticsShrek Image Mashup (Musical Theatre Promo)Hey, Tony. See this photo of Shrek? H…AestheticsEveryone Nov…

A Footnote to E-book History

"Traditional publishers… couldn’t understand his willingness to surrender his ‘authority’ over his own work by letting others participate. Nor could they understand his desire to ‘devalue’ his copyright by posting a whole book online." —A Footnote to E-book History (Wired) Similar:All About Those Facebook 'Like' Scam PostsWhen you click “like” for a cause in Fac…BusinessI…

Blah, Blah, Blah and Blog

“Alongside the boom, however, there have recently been a few faint signs of backlash. As increasing hordes take on the task of trying to keep new sites looking nice, sounding original and free from banalities, more hordes just seem to fail.” —Blah, Blah, Blah and Blog (Wired) Similar:Blog RSS Feed Generator for WP RSS AggregatorI…

Interview with Oliver Sacks

“…I think the wonder of our aesthetic or religious sense, or musicality, is increased by the fact that it depends on three pounds of jelly in our head.” —Interview with Oliver Sacks (neurologist and novelist) Similar:The Rise of "Synthespians"”Mr. Serkis is the human actor behind th…ArtAn unreal Mars skylineThat awesome image showing Earth, Venus …AestheticsWhat…

Space Food Sticks

“I was eight years old when my parents bought these for me, and I can still remember those chewy little peanut butter sticks more vividly than almost anything else from my childhood. I’ve wanted more of them for three decades!” —Space Food Sticks Similar:Too Short a Season (TNG Rewatch: Season 1, Episode 15) When an…

Geek in Love

Kathleen, I wanted to do this in this most potentially embarassing way possible, and I figured doing it here and now, in front of a quarter of a million strangers was as good a way as any. CmdrTaco —Geek in Love (Slashdot) Similar:Meet octobot, a soft-bodied robot that looks like the futureOur future robot overlords…

Staying Alive

A short series of philosophical exercises, in a futuristic setting, which asks you to evaluate different definitions of personal identity. (Do you step into a spacecraft that has a 50% chance of killing you, or have your whole body scanned, destroyed, and re-constructed somewhere else three minutes later?) At the end, your choices are analyzed.…

Blog ad Nauseam

“I have lost all touch with reality, and only live to comment on the comments that other bloggers have made in reference to my notes about their comments. Is anybody out there?” —Blog ad Nauseam (The Weekly Standard) Similar:Copy Of The Scarlet Letter Can't Believe The Notes High Schooler Writing In MarginsBaffled that the young…

British Company Claims Patent on Hyperlinks

“It may sound far-fetched, but a U.S. federal court will hear preliminary arguments next week to determine if this most elemental of Internet activities is the business property of a lone company, protected in the form of a patent.” —British Company Claims Patent on Hyperlinks (Wired) Similar:How To Escape The Procrastination Doom LoopInstead of being…